Consider yourself a potential Denny Crane, Atticus Finch or Lionel Hutz? For the sake of gender equality – Ally McBeal, Elle Woods or Erin Brockovich?  Think you argue “it’s just the vibe of the thing” better than Bud Tingwell?

The QUOTALS Allens Arthur Robinson Witness Examination Competition is for all students who dream of standing in court and making a name for themselves in litigation. Stand up and start now! Nominations open around the middle of Semester 2 so gear yourself up and start practicing those opening and closings in front of the mirror with your shoes off.

What is required?

The competition is a simulated civil or criminal trial consisting of teams of two students: one barrister and one non-competitive witness. The barrister must prove his/her argument in front of a judge by inducing the facts of the case from the witnesses through examination and cross-examination. The competition improves your public speaking skills, is lots of fun interrogating your friends and generally does not require any legal research.

Competitors will receive a brief (including facts, police statements etc.) approximately 24 hours prior to the trial. You will be given a witness that you can have a 1 hour meeting with prior to the competition to prepare and question for the big trial.

The trial itself involves, opening statements, examination-in-chief, cross-examination, closing statements and objections to evidence.  While the Evidence and Advocacy subjects at QUT are beneficial to students participating, it’s not required.  Finalists from the past 2 years have not undertaken the subjects.

Are there prizes?

There are fantastic prizes to be won including cash and the opportunity to proceed to the Australian Law Society Association’s Conference (this year to be held in Brisbane) where the winners will compete against universities from all around Australia and receive a free pass to a week jam-packed full of social events!

How to get involved?

We are also in need of witnesses for the competition. Being a witness (not as burdensome as it sounds) gives you an opportunity to see firsthand how the trial operates. Send us an email and let us know what dates and times of your availability.

The Workshop

Every year QUOTALS holds a workshop on the art of advocacy. The workshop runs through the structure of the trial and gives you tips about how to address the bench and persuade the court of your argument. The workshop will:

·         give instructions as to advocacy, techniques to use and how to address the court.

·         give a demonstration so you can see what you are and are not meant to do.

·         provide practical exercises so you can put everything you’ve learnt into practice!

Although these are the things we aim to show in the workshop it is very flexible and open to participators input. So the night can be adapted if there is anything in particular you want to know more about or learn.

It is highly recommended that students entering the QUOTALS Allens Arthur Robinson Witness Examination Competition come along to this – you will gain so much from the experience!

The Final

The QUOTALS Allens Arthur Robinson Witness Examination Final is usually held at the offices of AAR - Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle Street. The night kicks off with drinks and nibbles at 5.30pm and then the final at 6.00pm.

It’s a chance to meet Christa Howat from the Human Resources Division, some of people from the firm and get to know the culture at one of Brisbane’s top tier firms!